


and give them victory over the grave

by brahe



Series: brahe's 2017 advent bingo [23]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Heart-to-Heart, Holiday Angst, Post-RotJ, Sibling Bonding, The Force, Twin bonding, ac2017, adventchallenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-20 03:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13138368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brahe/pseuds/brahe
Summary: Luke and Leia and Life Day, and finding happiness in the rubble after war.





	and give them victory over the grave

**Author's Note:**

> lol summaries  
> anyway, this is kinda short and didn't really turn out how I wanted, but here we are. I just want luke teaching leia the force, and also just luke and leia being twins and doing twin things and ugh  
> First time actually writing these guys, which is kinda crazy considering how much I'm constantly screaming about my son luke skywalker  
> Prompt "family drama," title from "o come, o come emmanuel"

The first Life Day that comes up after the second Death Star, after Vader and the Emperor, rolls around without much ado. Luke half forgets what day it is, remembering when he sees the decorations that line the hallway outside his room. It doesn't feel like the holiday season - too much has happened too soon for it to feel like anything even remotely normal anymore.

He finds Han fairly quickly, leaving the hanger with a streak of oil on his face and covering his hands.

"You better wash up," Luke says by way of greeting. "Leia'll have a fit if you try to get anywhere near her that dirty."

Han glares at him half-heartedly. "Jeez, happy holiday to you, too, kid," Han says. Luke blinks, remembers for the second time.

"Oh, right," he nods. "Happy Life Day."

Han falls easily into step next to him as they make their way to the command center. "You forget?" he asks, though it's mostly rhetorical.

"Never celebrated it much, anyway," Luke shrugs, and he feels the indignation from Han before he sees it on his face.

"What d'ya mean, never celebrated it much!" he exclaims, wide-eyed. "We're gonna fix that today, kid, that's for sure," Han tells him.

The idea of partying, of drinking the night away with friends and songs sits all wrong, Luke thinks, but he doesn't tell that to Han. All the losses are still too fresh for the both of them, but Luke can't imagine forgetting about it for a night like Han can.

"Whatever you say," he ends up answering, and if it gets him a weird look from Han, neither of them say anything.

 

Leia's exiting a meeting when they arrive, and she comes up to them with a soft smile. She tugs Han down for a quick kiss before wiping her hands on his shirt. "I'm guessing you fixed the _Falcon,_ " she says.

"Just a bad motivator," he tells her. "Might also need to fix the hyperdrive." 

"Might also need a shower," she says, and turns to Luke. She only watches him for a moment, and then pulls him into a tight hug. "You okay?" she asks softly. He shrugs slightly.

"Will be."

She pulls back but keeps her hands on his shoulders. "You'd tell me, right?" she asks. Luke gives her a smile.

"Probably," he says. "Besides, you'd know, anyway."

"Hm, maybe. I'm not that good yet." 

"Sure you are," Luke tells her. "You've already mastered basic levitation, and sensing feelings has already come pretty naturally to you."

"This again," Han rolls his eyes, but he's smiling. "You're great," he says, wraps an arm around Leia's waist and kisses her temple.

"Alright, alright," Leia says. She returns her gaze to Luke, serious. "You better."

"Later," he concedes.

"Twins." Han shakes his head. "Come on, I'm starved."

"You just ate!" Leia exclaims.

"Yeah, like two hours ago," Han says.

"You're not touching any food with hands that dirty," Leia tells him with raised eyebrows. "Go wash up and we'll save you a seat."

Han goes, grumbling as he does, and Leia and Luke finish the walk to the cantina in relative silence.

It's not until they're sitting that Leia gives him another look. He knows he can't hide his feelings from her, doesn't want to, really - he just doesn't want to add to her burden, the weight she carries heavy enough already.

But he can't really say no to her, so he ends up answering the questions she doesn't verbally ask.

"It's just...an adjustment," Luke tries to explain. "Before, my holidays were just me and Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and I lived in this world where my biggest problem was trying to get out and my biggest secret was that I stole Higgs Holdon's speeder and crashed it outside Beggar's Canyon. Now..."

"Now everything is different," Leia nods. "I get it. Well, in a way. This is the first holiday I've had time to celebrate without at least speaking to my parents, or my friends," she says. "Alderaan is gone and it's easy to forget when I'm busy."

They fall into silence after that, and Luke lets the bond their share open up fully, because they both know it's so much easier than trying to put these emotions into words.

"You're not alone," Leia tells Luke, taking his hand. Luke offers her a gentle smile, squeezes her hand in return.

"Neither are you. Everything has changed around me so much, but you're just a constant. I feel like I've known you forever."

"The Force works in mysterious ways," Leia says with a wry smile, and it startles a laugh out of Luke. "But I get it. Having you around, it reminds me that not all my family is gone."

There's a swelling of something bittersweet between them, a loneliness thinly covered by compassion.

"Happy Life Day," Leia tells him.

Luke smiles. "Happy Life Day."


End file.
